Means for indicating proper stroke in golf



Oct. 27, 1959 M. J. BONETATE 2,910,297

MEANS FOR INDICATING PROPER STROKE IN GOLF Filed July 17 1957 INVENTOR R9, 3 W M ATTO RN EYS.

United States Patent MEANS FOR INDICATING PROPER STROKE IN GOLF Michael J. Bonetate, Naugatuck, Conn.

Application July 17, 1957, Serial No. 672,509

'5 Claims. (Cl. 273-186) This invention relates to means for indicating the proper stroke in golf, and has for an object to provide a simple and effective device which may be applied to the shaft of a golf club between the head and the hand grip, which will assist golfers in perfecting their swing of the club in playing the game.

It is an object to provide a device of this character which not only indicates whether the direction of forward motion of the club in making the stroke is correct and as it should be, but also has the same effect for the backward stroke, and will show deviation in the desired direction in either the forward or back stroke.

Another object is to provide a device for training golfers toward perfecting their swing of the club used in playing the game of golf.

It is also an object to provide a device of this character which may be readily and quickly applied to and removed from the shaft of the club in the proper position thereon.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, I have devised the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification. It is, however, to be understood the invention is not limited .to the specific details of construction and arrangement shown, but may embody various changes and modifications within the scope of the invention.

In this drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a golf club with a preferred form of this device applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a View looking from the right of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device on an enlarged scale, the club shaft being shown in section, the view being taken substantially on line 33 of Fig. 1.

The device may be applied to various types of golf clubs, but it is shown as applied to a driver including the head 5, the grip 6, and the connecting shaft 7. This device, indicated as a whole at 8 is applied to the shaft between the head and the grip and it is so constructed that it may be readily applied at any position on this shaft, depending on the effect and operation desired. It comprises a series of air-operated spinners mounted on a support secured to the shaft of the club, and may be constructed for operation in either direction of the swing of the club, but is preferably constructed so as to operate in both the back and forward strokes, including the follow-through. A simple and effective construction for this device is shown in the drawing, comprising a support 9, which in the form shown, comprises a substantially U-shaped spring clip with the opposite legs of the U concavo-convexly curved at 10 adjacent their free ends to embrace the shaft 7 on the opposite sides thereof, and curved outwardly at their free ends 11 to facilitate application to the shaft by sliding it laterally from one side thereof.

Mounted on this support are one or more air-operated spinners 12, 13, and 14, 15. These may be of various forms or types of spinners, but an effective and satisfacory form is substantially as shown in the drawing, in

fice

which each spinner comprises a pair of diametrically opposite blades 16 of somewhat elongated, generally oval shape, twisted laterally for operation by movement through the air to impart a rotating action to the spinner. This may be similar to a common type of toy pinwheel or toy windmill. They are mounted on the support 9 for rotation on a transverse shaft 17 through suitable bearings 18 at the center of the spinner running on the shaft 17, and they may be kept in proper spaced relation by suitable spacers 19 so as not to interefere with each other. The number of these spinners and their size may vary, depending on the type of club used and the effect desired. They may be arranged on either one or both sides of the club shaft, but preferably are arranged on both sides so as to have their etfect on the swing both on the back and the forward stroke. One or more of these spinners may be used on each side of the club, depending on the effect desired, but for the club shown and in the particular form illustrated in the drawing, three of these spinners are used on each side of the club shaft, and they are mounted in alignment and on supporting shafts extending in opposite directions from the shaft 7 of the club. The blades of the spinners are inclined or twisted so that adjacent spinners will rotate in opposite directions. Thus, for example, the spinners 12 will rotate in one direction, and the intermediate spinner 13 will rotate in the opposite direction. The same is true of spinners 14 and 15. Spinner 14 will rotate in one direction and spinners 15 in the opposite direction.

In operation, as previously indicated, the device is placed on the shaft 7 of the club at any position desired,

between the head 5 and grip 6, depending on the effect desired and the strength of the user. It is arranged so that one set of spinners, as 12 and 13, are facing backwardly from the shaft, in the direction and plane of the back stroke, while the other set comprising the spinners 14 and 15 extend forwardly from the shaft in the direc tion and plane of the forward stroke, including the follow-through. They are spaced a suificient distance above the head to give sufficient clearance above the head and the turf to allow free rotation of the spinners, but, as previously indicated, may be located at any desired position, either farther from or closer to the head or hand grip, depending on the effect desired.

In operation, both sets of spinners will operate on both the back and forward strokes, but their effect is greater on the forward stroke than on the back stroke as the movement of the club is much slower on the back stroke and much more rapid on the forward stroke and the follow-through part of the forward stroke. Deviation from the desired direction in either stroke will be indicated to the golfer by reduced rapidity of the rotation of the spinners, and will usually be readily discernible both to the eye of the player and any onlooker. It is, of course, the passage of the spinners through the air by the stroke of the club which causes them to rotate, and by watching the action of these spinners the golfer can tell whether his stroke is in the proper line, and by the feel of the resistance created by these spinners in both the back and forward strokes, he can judge whether he is getting proper speed, and also the proper amount of back stroke and the follow-through. Further, the action of the air on these spinners and therefore the resistance or feel on the club automatically varies with the speed of the stroke, it being greater with greater speed. Also, the position of these spinners with respect to the head of the club has an effect on their action or effect, as it varies at different distances from the head, and the type of supporting clamp 9 permits the player to mount the device at any desired position on the shaft of the club to secure the effect and feel desired. If it is nearer to the head of the club the action goes more to the ball or head action of the club, while if it is higher up or closer to the grip the action goes more to the effect on the arms and hands.

It will help golfers to swing a golf club with a sense of relaxation of muscle movement, which is important to play good golf. It is not used when hitting a goif ball, but is used only for the purpose of practice swing ing, to help golfers acquire a good feel on the swing, and also for loosening muscles when hitting a golf ball.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, I

claim:

1. In combination a golf club including a shaft connecting ahead provided with a striking face on the forward side thereof and a hand grip, means for indicating proper stroke of this club in golf comprising a support including means securing it to the shaft of the club betweenthe head and grip, a transverse pivotal shaft on said support extending forwardly and back wardly from opposite sides of the club shaft, and one or more pinwheels mounted to rotate freely on said pivotal shaft on each of the opposite sides of the first shaft and facing in the same and opposite directions as the striking face so as to be rotated as they move through the air as the club is given a back and forward stroke.

2. In combination a golf club including a shaft connecting a head provided with a striking face on the forward side thereof and a hand grip, means for indicating proper stroke of this club in golf comprising a support including means securing it to the shaft of the club between the head and grip, transverse shaft means on the support projecting forwardly and backwardly from opposite sides of the first shaft, one or more air operable spinners mounted to rotate freely on said shaft means on each of the opposite sides of the club shaft and facing in the same and opposite directions as the striking face so as to be operated as they are moved through the air on the back and forward strokes of the club.

3. In combination a golf club including a shaft connecting a head provided with a striking face on the forward side thereof and a hand grip, means for indicating proper stroke of this club in golf comprising a support including means gripping the shaft of the club to secure it to the shaft between the head and hand grip, and a plurality of air operable spinners mounted on the support in line on each of the opposite sides of the shaft and facing outwardly from the shaft in the same and opposite directions as the striking face, and said spinners mounted to rotate freely on said support as they are moved through theair on the back and forward strokes of the club.

4. In combination a golf club including a shaft connecting a head provided with a striking face on the forward side thereof and a hand grip, means for indicating proper stroke of this club in golf comprising a support including means gripping the shaft of the club to secure it to the shaft between the head and hand grip, a plurality of air operable spinners, means mounting said spinners to rotate freely on the support comprising a transverse shaft means projecting forwardly and backwardly from opposite sides of the club shaft, said spinners including bearings rotatably mounting them on the shaft means in spaced relation with spinners on one side of the support facing in the opposite direction from spinners on the other side so that they will be operated as they are moved through the air on both the back and forward strokes of the club but at different speeds due to the different speeds of these movements.

5. In combination a golf club including a shaft con necting ahead provided with a striking face on the for- Ward side thereof and a hand grip, means for indicating proper stroke of this club in golf comprising a support mounted on the shaft between the head and grip, and one or more air operable spinners mounted to rotate freely on the support at the side of the shaft and facing in the same direction as the striking face to be operated by movement through the air with a stroke of the club.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,155,263 Naito Sept. 28, 1915 1,583,881 Heberling May 11, 1926 1,712,537 White May 14, 1929 2,482,015 McConnell Sept. 13, 1949 2,804,306 Chedister et al. Aug. 27, 1957 

